I have read through all these posts and have found them to be very helpful. I am not one to tear apart workbooks, however, because I do save them all in rubbermaid containers by school year just in case I ever need them. I band all the workbooks together by year and put all paperwork into one large binder for each of my sons, for each year.

That being said, however, I have found this thread to be eye opening for me and how I "organize" myself. We finish everything, every year, but usually not when I want us to. We usually have to go a week or two (this year it's three weeks) longer before everything is finished. I would LOVE to have a date on the calendar that we actually can all look forward to as the end of our school year, and that we stick with!

So, combining how I like things to look when the year is through and all that I've read on this thread, I have decided to plan the entire year in a binder and 10 monthly hanging folders instead of 36 weekly ones. I don't think I would have much in the weekly hanging folders, anyway, except for blank paper, a book list, and a few copied worksheet and test papers, all of which I can organize on a weekly basis. The core items are textbooks and workbooks, and I don't want to tear any of them apart. I will have a basket for each of my sons that will have the books they need (textbooks, workbooks and reading books) in it.

I will take away from this thread, though, the idea of having 10 monthly hanging folders for myself to put in the reading lists needed for that month as well as project ideas and materials lists (and anything else I want to remember for that month). I like being organized by month and this is a tangible way to do it. I may even be able to plan a unit study or two so we can add some interest in our homeschool!

I have never planned out an entire year before, and although I won't be tearing apart any workbooks, I will be putting together all that we need for the whole year so I can enjoy the year more and not worry about planning all the time. I say, bring on January...we'll be ready for it!! Pam

But scheduling was the hardest for me. I didn't want to over encumber my children with daily work BUT I wanted to also push to achieve our annual goals.

Same.

My main issue is scheduling that far ahead; I'm afraid I will lose a lot of the flexibility that makes home schooling work so well for us.

Take math for example. If I planned what to cover with each child over the course of a year, then where does that leave me if they hit a rough patch and need time to cook? Or if they master something quickly and want to move on? This would be an issue especially for my 11yo aspie son because his math skill acquisition has been sporadic, but not for want of regular instruction. I'd have to set very modest goals for him if I planned an entire year in advance!

My main issue is scheduling that far ahead; I'm afraid I will lose a lot of the flexibility that makes home schooling work so well for us.

Take math for example. If I planned what to cover with each child over the course of a year, then where does that leave me if they hit a rough patch and need time to cook? Or if they master something quickly and want to move on? This would be an issue especially for my 11yo aspie son because his math skill acquisition has been sporadic, but not for want of regular instruction. I'd have to set very modest goals for him if I planned an entire year in advance!

Thoughts?

The thing to remember is to continue that flexibility despite "the plan". While I don't' have anyone with sn or ld and can't talk to that specific, I can attest to having children that simply "hit the Wall". NO matter how much instruction I gave, they were not going to get it. the plan was nice as in I could see where we were, where we needed to go, and where we had BEEN. That part was helpful. I could glance at it and decide this really isn't necessary or this is critical. I looked at it and said, "we can skip this, do this orally, and modify that." After all, "the plan" of what they need to learn and cover doesn't change. They still need that info. Maybe not in the timetable you originally thought but it still is needed to some degree (depends on which subject we're talking).

We were able to take breaks, cover the material we had gone over again in a different way,and then pick back up when the concepts were learned and had gelled. that's one reason why I don't set up my system tied to weeks. I just have a subject and the order it must be done in. And how much should be covered to finish in a year. When they hit the rough patches, they do usually come back and go a little faster and in the end it all washes out. BUT I DID GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION to take the work and CONTINUE it the next year or drop it and move on! Sometimes we had to do that (this is one of those years and we are doing both) But "the plan" just gets moved on up to the next year.

And my second reason why I love having it planned is if at the end you realize "Gosh we really struggled with this, I had to modify this quite a bit" you can honestly review that and decide if it was your child or if the material just. didn't. work. for you. And you can make changes without feeling guilt. Or in a year or two coming back to that same curriculum with the thought "hmm everyone else loves it maybe " I should go for it again" Nope you have concrete proof it ain't going work.And you can flee quickly from that discussion LOL!

Pam, I know how you feel about tearing apart workbooks. I'm still trying to convince myself that it's really ok...lol. I really want to, I'm just afraid to.

I think it's great that you're taking what you want and leaving the rest. This thread is full of wonderful ideas and it's even better when you can make it work "Just Perfect" for you.

I'm another who isn't tearing apart workbooks. I think it's a lot of work. Each kid has an "area" and a basket for just those things. IN those places go the workbooks. If things are hairy and we need to modify, I can just grab the workbooks, flip through and put a big x on the page for them NOT to do or write across the top SEE MOM. Then we can do it orally or whatever I've decided needs to be done. I can also copy that page and save it for later and hand out for the moments when they are going crazy and need something to calm then down. Plus, dad has an easier time if he needs to step in for me if he just has a basket to deal with and not a bunch of papers in a folder. But for us, I see the workbooks getting done quicker in their basket than torn apart in my file. I know me. I'll forget to hand them out and they'll forget the subject exists.

I've been loving all of these ideas. I went out today and bought myself a file box, hanging folders and manilla folders so I can set up my weekly folder box. I have no problem taking apart workbooks, my kids usually ask me to rip the sheet out for them anyway since it's easier to write on a single paper than in a book. I'm waiting on a few things to arrive (should be here tomorrow) before I start loading things up. Now I've been thinking about planning because I'm not good with keeping up paper planners because I hate erasing and re-writing if we need to bump something so I've decided to use a large index card box I found at office depot and colored index cards. I'll write up my lessons on those and then file them by days. That way if we need to bump science a day, I just move the science index card back to the next day. I plan to use the different colors to make it easy see what subjects need to be done. I'll use Yellow for History, Purple for Science, Green with be for my oldest son's LA and math, Blue will be for DD's LA and Math, and Red/Pink will be for my youngest son's Kindergarten work. The kids picked their favorite colors so I'll just go with it. This way I'll also know that the Green, Blue and Red/Pink cards are the #1 priorities because those are the 3 Rs. Yellow and Purple can be bumped and doubled up if need be.

It will take some work, but I think this will easier for us to follow.

Well I better get to printing labels for the folders and writing up lessons.

I've been loving all of these ideas. I went out today and bought myself a file box, hanging folders and manilla folders so I can set up my weekly folder box. I have no problem taking apart workbooks, my kids usually ask me to rip the sheet out for them anyway since it's easier to write on a single paper than in a book. I'm waiting on a few things to arrive (should be here tomorrow) before I start loading things up. Now I've been thinking about planning because I'm not good with keeping up paper planners because I hate erasing and re-writing if we need to bump something so I've decided to use a large index card box I found at office depot and colored index cards. I'll write up my lessons on those and then file them by days. That way if we need to bump science a day, I just move the science index card back to the next day. I plan to use the different colors to make it easy see what subjects need to be done. I'll use Yellow for History, Purple for Science, Green with be for my oldest son's LA and math, Blue will be for DD's LA and Math, and Red/Pink will be for my youngest son's Kindergarten work. The kids picked their favorite colors so I'll just go with it. This way I'll also know that the Green, Blue and Red/Pink cards are the #1 priorities because those are the 3 Rs. Yellow and Purple can be bumped and doubled up if need be.

It will take some work, but I think this will easier for us to follow.

Well I better get to printing labels for the folders and writing up lessons.

Let us know how that goes! I have been toying with that idea for awhile now. I wasnt sure if would make things easier or more complicated. I wanted to find some kind of clear plastic sheet or holder thingy with 8 slots (one for each subject) So I could see my week all at once on a single page.

Pam, I know how you feel about tearing apart workbooks. I'm still trying to convince myself that it's really ok...lol. I really want to, I'm just afraid to.

I think it's great that you're taking what you want and leaving the rest. This thread is full of wonderful ideas and it's even better when you can make it work "Just Perfect" for you.

Absolutely...that's what I love about this forum. I've found so many helpful curriculum aids and tips here, as well as just plain support. I'm really enjoying this thread because it's motivated me to think ahead of my normal comfort zone. I'm excited to have my year planned, but I'm going with Geek here, too, in that I have to leave room for the normal inconsistencies that come with homeschooling. Sometimes kids have to "cook" and sometimes they can just move right along, and you never know when that will happen. So I'm leaving us some wiggle room...

I'm happy that some of you are comfortable with tearing apart workbooks, and it makes total sense for those of you who don't keep everything your kids do. I could definitely learn from you!! I keep WAY too much of my boys' work...a topic for another day.

This might already be posted....I couldn't read all the lovely posts. I have taken my SOTW activity books (and others that I want to use as non-consumable) to Kinko's and they will cut the binding off and 3-hole punch it very cheaply. They can be put into a binder the year you are using them, then stored easily (put a couple of rubber bands on it) in a file box. The cover stays with the pages and a timesaver when the books are thick. This allowed me to save on copies as I was able to adapt to the child (one always wants color pages, one only the maps, etc). For copies that we don't get to, I just put them in a file folder with the book and save for the next child.

On the subject of letting things go in regards to books you don't finish; a wise homeschooling Mom said "It isn't as important that you do each subject perfectly, just that you did them at all."

That keeps my heart feeling warm and fuzzy when we fall behind or I don't get to all the extra supplemental books from the library. I don't have to do it according to the perfect plan in my head. I just keep to keep moving forward and doing something.

We actually homeschool year round so we are working on week one of our summer term this week using this system and I have to say that I love it.

One area that it is helping me in is that I tend to be a perfectionist, so if we can't do exactly what I planned why do anything (to the extreme there but you get the idea). Well with this since I am not looking at the entire book but rather a smaller weekly "chunk" it is more doable. If we don't complete the entire weeks worth of work we still did a managable bit and can move the rest or skip if we need to.

I will see if I can get some photos up on my blog next week. So far I am really enjoying test driving and tweaking this system.

I did take all of our books apart. (Well I need to decide if I am going to use SOTW ag with TOG next year or not and if so I will have it taken apart and 3 hole punched.) I have binders set up for the books that we will use again (OPG, FLL and such).

thanks, I'll have to look into those! I think they may be smaller than an index card so i would have to cut them, btu maybe some type of scrapbooking sticker organizer page or something would work too

There are page protectors that have six sections, each fitting a 4x6 photo or index card, in your case. It's not eight, unfortunately, but I don't know of a page protector that has eight larger size sections. The six-sections one above can be ordered online, or here: (there are many more options)

And if you were handy with a sewing machine, you could measure out the sections on a 8 1/2 x 11 plain page protector and sew the number of sections you need, keeping in mind that you can also use the back of a protector for the other half of your daily subjects. Just an idea...

Wow! This thread has grown so much. I had came by a couple of days ago and was intrigued by the whole idea now I think I'm hooked. I wanted to know if anyone thinks I could pull this system off with a curriculum like Calvert? We are using it this year along with FLL level 4 and singapore math. Since everything is laid out in Calvert would it just be a matter of breaking the weeks work in to folders?

I'm thinking about making a master document that lists what is in each week's folder by topic mainly for history/science. I think this would be helpful if I come across notebooking pages, coloring pages, seasonal, and project ideas during the rest of the summer and school year. This way I would know what file to put the item in.

Thanks for protector ideas for the index cards! All the scrapbooking ones are 12x12 and I am not sure I want it that big because I am a nerd and I want it to fit in a reg 3 ring binder I am going to find a baseball one and measure it, hoping it willfit 3x5 cards in there? I am still mulling this idea over.decisions, decisions......

Anyways I scheduled out 6 weeks of all the subjects I have (where oh where is my SOTW, FLL and WWE ) and filed as much as I could. I am probably going to have to push off our starting week because my books are not here yet. Unless I get them today and get a whole free day to plan.

Thanks for protector ideas for the index cards! All the scrapbooking ones are 12x12 and I am not sure I want it that big because I am a nerd and I want it to fit in a reg 3 ring binder I am going to find a baseball one and measure it, hoping it willfit 3x5 cards in there? I am still mulling this idea over.decisions, decisions......

Anyways I scheduled out 6 weeks of all the subjects I have (where oh where is my SOTW, FLL and WWE ) and filed as much as I could. I am probably going to have to push off our starting week because my books are not here yet. Unless I get them today and get a whole free day to plan.

I have the baseball card protectors for my coupons and they aren't quite wide enough to fit a 3 x 5 card, most baseball cards are about 2.5 x 3.5. Sorry if I rained on your parade, but thought I'd save you some trouble.

I have the baseball card protectors for my coupons and they aren't quite wide enough to fit a 3 x 5 card, most baseball cards are about 2.5 x 3.5. Sorry if I rained on your parade, but thought I'd save you some trouble.

I have 3 kids, but I only homeschool one because he is the only one of age. I am with the mom from the beginning of this thread that 'flys by the seat of her pants'.

I have a lesson planner. I write what we did each day, have a paperclip in each book mark where we left off and follow the lessons in order. It seems like a waste of time (to me) to write it all down a year in advance when I am just going to follow the lessons in order. I'm not one to take the workbooks apart either. We can easily find where we left off. I can see the filing system being useful when you HS more than one child, or when they get older and can read really well and are more independent when they work. My son will be 1st grade, so there is a lot of hand holding still. I'm so free-willed with math too. I have a curriculum for it, but some days I decide to do something else that will still teach what we are doing, or I go with what he is asking me in math - I take a lot of his verbal cues for what we do in math.

I tried an online homeschool tracker type thing, and that just took too long to type everything in, and I got behind. I hated that feeling. Different things work for different people.

When I start homeschooling my younger 2, I may do something like the filing system, but for now, the lesson planner works for me.

I can see how the filing system is great for those who need to check things off.

I have 3 kids, but I only homeschool one because he is the only one of age. I am with the mom from the beginning of this thread that 'flys by the seat of her pants'.

I have a lesson planner. I write what we did each day, have a paperclip in each book mark where we left off and follow the lessons in order. It seems like a waste of time (to me) to write it all down a year in advance when I am just going to follow the lessons in order. I'm not one to take the workbooks apart either. We can easily find where we left off. I can see the filing system being useful when you HS more than one child, or when they get older and can read really well and are more independent when they work. My son will be 1st grade, so there is a lot of hand holding still. I'm so free-willed with math too. I have a curriculum for it, but some days I decide to do something else that will still teach what we are doing, or I go with what he is asking me in math - I take a lot of his verbal cues for what we do in math.

I tried an online homeschool tracker type thing, and that just took too long to type everything in, and I got behind. I hated that feeling. Different things work for different people.

When I start homeschooling my younger 2, I may do something like the filing system, but for now, the lesson planner works for me.

I can see how the filing system is great for those who need to check things off.

This is sorta like me too. This will be my first year, and while I'm usually an extremely organized and well-planned type of person, I'm not planning out our whole year as I don't want to feel the stress of keeping up and putting more work on myself than what is needed. I'm definitely no expert yet, but I'm just planning on buying myself a journal. Then on the first page of the month, I will paste in a calendar and just scribble on each day what subjects we will be doing so I have something to refer to quickly. (Math & LA everyday, history, geography on alternating days, science 2 times a week). Oh, forgot to add, on the front page of the journal, I'm going to write down each subject, then write about how many pages per week we need to complete to stay on track. This should be fairly easy as all the curriculums we're using are fairly well planned out, and tell me how much I should be doing each day/week. So then when I'm going to plan my week, I'll just refer to the front page, check how many lessons I should plan out, and make sure I have everything I need for those lessons. Then, rather than pre-planning each day (which I will most likely get discouraged with if I fall behind), I'm just going to write down what I actually DID that day rather than what I plan to do. At the end of the week, I'll check back to how many pages I actually completed. If I didn't meet our "quota", then I can always add in a bit of school on Friday to catch up (we're doing a 4 day week here.) I don't plan on pulling apart workbooks or anything, just grabbing each book/binder where we left off and continuing on.

Now who knows, maybe I'm nuts and this will be a complete failure! But I feel much more comfortable keeping it simple, and not pressuring myself too much. I *might* try some kind of modified workbox system once we're going, but right now I don't see how it would be much extra work just to grab each binder/workbook out of my cupboard as I need it. My kids will still need quite a bit of one-on-one anyways, so I don't know if the workbox approach would really help us out any. (3rd grade & 1st with a 2 & 3 yr old at home as well.)

Thanks for protector ideas for the index cards! All the scrapbooking ones are 12x12 and I am not sure I want it that big because I am a nerd and I want it to fit in a reg 3 ring binder I am going to find a baseball one and measure it, hoping it willfit 3x5 cards in there? I am still mulling this idea over.decisions, decisions......

Anyways I scheduled out 6 weeks of all the subjects I have (where oh where is my SOTW, FLL and WWE ) and filed as much as I could. I am probably going to have to push off our starting week because my books are not here yet. Unless I get them today and get a whole free day to plan.

Do they need to be index cards? What about business cards? They make binder pages that hold a number of business cards. You might even be able to go to a printing place and ask if you can buy blank cards, or if they have any misprint batches they could just give you (you could write on the backs). Otherwise, you could buy the perforated tear-apart kind. Those you could even type up and then print from your computer.

Now who knows, maybe I'm nuts and this will be a complete failure! But I feel much more comfortable keeping it simple, and not pressuring myself too much. I *might* try some kind of modified workbox system once we're going, but right now I don't see how it would be much extra work just to grab each binder/workbook out of my cupboard as I need it. My kids will still need quite a bit of one-on-one anyways, so I don't know if the workbox approach would really help us out any. (3rd grade & 1st with a 2 & 3 yr old at home as well.)[/QUOTE]

This is somewhat how we did it this year and it did not work for us. I wish you the best of luck and it may work great for you. We are all different. For me, I need something to hold myself accountable. Without a structured lesson plan to go by, I found it to easy to just say "Oh we'll do it another day". Again this is just me. I am planning out my year in advance and hope that this will keep me more on track. I am a list maker and a box checker so that fits with my style. If you can stay motivated and on track without all the planning then YEAH!!!! For me, I will be spending the next six weeks(hopefully shorter) locked away planning!!!!

Thanks for protector ideas for the index cards! All the scrapbooking ones are 12x12 and I am not sure I want it that big because I am a nerd and I want it to fit in a reg 3 ring binder I am going to find a baseball one and measure it, hoping it willfit 3x5 cards in there? I am still mulling this idea over.decisions, decisions......

I just measured and the ring holes fit an 8 1/2 x 11 binder but the page protector obviously is larger than the actual binder (so it sticks out a lot, especially at the end). You can look at Staples and see if they sell oversized binders that will fit the actual pages a bit better? This also may just be too much trouble!

Do they need to be index cards? What about business cards? They make binder pages that hold a number of business cards. You might even be able to go to a printing place and ask if you can buy blank cards, or if they have any misprint batches they could just give you (you could write on the backs). Otherwise, you could buy the perforated tear-apart kind. Those you could even type up and then print from your computer.

This is somewhat how we did it this year and it did not work for us. I wish you the best of luck and it may work great for you. We are all different. For me, I need something to hold myself accountable. Without a structured lesson plan to go by, I found it to easy to just say "Oh we'll do it another day". Again this is just me. I am planning out my year in advance and hope that this will keep me more on track. I am a list maker and a box checker so that fits with my style. If you can stay motivated and on track without all the planning then YEAH!!!! For me, I will be spending the next six weeks(hopefully shorter) locked away planning!!!!

This will be our 7th year hsing and I just want to be able to say to my boys, "June ___ is our last day of school..yay!" and actually, months later, be able to have that day come and it be our last day of school. We're usually close but still, a week or two adds up. I am doing a modified version of this (no weekly folders and no tearing apart of workbooks) in hopes I can make sure week-after-week, we stay on schedule.

Do they need to be index cards? What about business cards? They make binder pages that hold a number of business cards. You might even be able to go to a printing place and ask if you can buy blank cards, or if they have any misprint batches they could just give you (you could write on the backs). Otherwise, you could buy the perforated tear-apart kind. Those you could even type up and then print from your computer.

I know this is not the place to ask this, but I want to link to another thread and I don't know how! I saw an older thread that had an idea that I thought would work well with this.

Anyone?

To make text into a link, highlight the text and then click on the icon that looks like a globe with a couple of chain links in front of it. A little window pops up where you can type in (or copy/paste from another browser window) the address you want to link to.

When I want to link to another thread I just navigate to that thread and then copy the address up in my browser's address line and paste that into the link dialog box thingy.

If I want to link to a specific post in a thread, I click on the post number up in the upper right hand corner of the post. That brings up a window with just that post in it. Then I copy and paste the address in the address line of the browser.

We did workboxes this year, and I really liked that approach to giving the assignments. I sat down once a week and figured out the assignments for the upcoming week, made copies and so forth, and then put everything in a file. There were some weeks I was too tired, or sick, or distracted, and didn't do a bang-up job of it.

The idea of getting all the weeks ready and in folders at the beginning of the year is definitely appealing. I think it might work out pretty well for dd. I know from past experience with ds, though, that such plans ALWAYS go awry with him. Any plans ALWAYS require reworking for one reason or another, and my subjects never stay lined up neatly so that we're doing "the plan for Week 15" in all subjects (or even most) at the same time. In some subjects we'll buzz through two weeks' worth of plans in two days, while in others we hit a wall and have to let it go entirely for a while just so we can get through a day. I did put together a series of files for SOTW by chapter the other day, though, with coordinating materials for both kids in the same folder because whenever we get to it, I'll do the same chapter with both kids on the same week. I think I'll at least do the same thing with science. And then maybe I'll put together a weekly file for each child separately that combines things like language arts and health. And I think math will just have to stay flexible but that doesn't generally require making copies, checking out library books, gathering materials, or cutting things out.

This wouldn't work for me either. This was why I liked the idea of filing by subject better and that is what I will be doing. I will then do the weekly thing a couple of weeks or so in advance. I will have everything I need printed and in the subject folders and easy to just transfer into the weekly ones while remaining flexible. Not sure if that would work for you but it would for me. I don't like overly complicated planning. I won't stick with it if it becomes too cumbersome. This was why momteaches2's post was so helpful for me. Simple, flexible and I can adapt it to work for me .

For those of you who are going to organize this by subject, I have a question.
Are you going to put 36 folders for the weeks within the subject areas?
I like the idea of organizing by subject. Yet, I really also love the idea of having the 36 weeks all sorted out. I plan to do a weekly binder. That way I can just pull from the weekly folders from the various subjects and put in the binder for my dd that week. However, if I plan by each subject and have 36 weekly folders within each subject it's going to end up being a ton of folders. Am I over thinking this?

For those of you who are going to organize this by subject, I have a question.Are you going to put 36 folders for the weeks within the subject areas?I like the idea of organizing by subject. Yet, I really also love the idea of having the 36 weeks all sorted out. I plan to do a weekly binder. That way I can just pull from the weekly folders from the various subjects and put in the binder for my dd that week. However, if I plan by each subject and have 36 weekly folders within each subject it's going to end up being a ton of folders. Am I over thinking this?

I wouldn't break it down that far because I'm easily overwhelmed by paperwork.

I will likely organize certain subjects by week and others by subject only. LA, science, social studies, that sort of thing I can organize by week. But in a subject like math where I prefer the flexibility (translation: the ability to fly by the seat of my pants and see how things go each week) of not being locked into A=week 1, B=week 2, C=week 3...when one of them needs more time on B or shows me s/he can skip C.

Ummm.....trying to link:001_huh:. Anyway, I thought I might incorporate this as well. Then each dc will have their own file crate for the week with assignment sheet, hanging folder with whatever can be in there, workbooks, etc can go in front, basic supplies in top.

Ummm.....trying to link:001_huh:. Anyway, I thought I might incorporate this as well. Then each dc will have their own file crate for the week with assignment sheet, hanging folder with whatever can be in there, workbooks, etc can go in front, basic supplies in top.

This will be our 7th year hsing and I just want to be able to say to my boys, "June ___ is our last day of school..yay!" and actually, months later, be able to have that day come and it be our last day of school. We're usually close but still, a week or two adds up. I am doing a modified version of this (no weekly folders and no tearing apart of workbooks) in hopes I can make sure week-after-week, we stay on schedule.

Pam

YES!! I am actually thinking I might sign us up for homeschool camp in June so that would give us a definite, but happy deadline. Hopefully, this will make it easier. We usually just don't get things done and we kind of peter out, or we keep stumbling along, but really needing to be done.

YES!! I am actually thinking I might sign us up for homeschool camp in June so that would give us a definite, but happy deadline. Hopefully, this will make it easier. We usually just don't get things done and we kind of peter out, or we keep stumbling along, but really needing to be done.

Yes, well put. We "peter out" and continue to "stumble along," too. This is what I'm trying to avoid for June, 2011! Love your idea of signing up for a camp at that time...good thinking!

Thanks so much Marie!
I definitely understand the baby getting into everything.
I like your idea of having just a few weeks planned out, but I'm afraid I'll get lazy and get to the point where I don't do pre-planning. That's why I love the idea of having the whole 36 weeks planned out. But I also like the flexibility of planning by subject. There are just some things like RightStart Math and LFC that I'm not exactly sure how to divide up into the 36 weeks. Since this will be our first year with them I'm not sure if my schedule will be practical or not.
I appreciate your input, I'll have to think some more.

This summer, I am entering all my plans into HST+. As I plan, I am printing/copying worksheets, tests, etc. These go into a hanging file folder labeled for each subject. I don't sort the pages by week. I just put them in the folder in order.

As I plan for each week, I put the week's work in their binder behind dividers labeled for the days of the week. I put their daily assignment sheet behind the divider, as well. These are printed out from HST.

I print out two of each assignment sheet. One goes in their binder, and one goes in my planner. I use my proclick binder to bind their pages into a master planner for me. That way, I can record their grades/assignments completed in my planner. Then, as I prep for the next week, I put grades in my HST and mark the assignments complete. This allows me to see what I need to reschedule for the following week if we didn't get to something.

At the end of the week, I take the completed work out of the weekly binders and put it in subject binders that I keep on a bookshelf. At the end of each quarter we sort through the subject binders and purge - keeping only a sampling of their work to be stored at the end of the year.

So, in short, I print out everything in the summer and store it in a crate by subject. At the beginning of the week, I put all necessary papers and assignment pages in their weekly binders. At the end of the week, I put their completed work in the subject binders. At the end of the quarter we purge the subject binders keeping only a portion of the work. At the end of the year, I put their work in one big binder (per child) and store it for good.